Tire valve closure assembly



NOV- 2, l954 E. H. BlcKLEY TIRE VALVE cLosURE ASSEMBLY Filed Ot. 7, 1952 2 Sheet's-Sheet l llllll Nov. 2, 1954 E. H. BlcKLEY 2,693,197

TIRE VALVE CLOSURE ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2 Filed Oct. "7, 1952 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

TIRE? VALVE-v CLOSURE f ASSEMBLY; i

Everett H. Bickley;'Narberth',l Pa.: ApplicationOctober` 7, 1952, Serial Nov 313,563.- 2Claims.. (Cl. 137232)` The present in ention relates,.to..tire valvesfor automobiles,bicycles,. airplanesor other .vehicles usingpneumatic tires, ,and-moreparticularly.,toa novel closure assembly, for association. with such a valve, such. as-shown in abandoned application Serial No.. 256,277,- iledNovember 14, 1951,. of which this. applicationis a. continuation-in-part.

In tire valves asnow and heretofore ,in use,. it .has been the common practice ,to .thread the free .endof fthe `.valve stem for the reception ofga vremovable...cap as ra. closure for the valve toprevent leakage and keep out dust .and dirt. Such caps are easilylost or.stolen, thus leaving fthe valve .exposedand lunprotected, which .condition dirt Yenters the valve, thereby preventing. proper seating so that'leakage develops andjatlatttirfe results.. Als'oit has been proposed in United States Patent No.. 2,275,820 to mold ar large open` aperture intoi a. rubbersleeve of such a size as will'permit' thevalve. stem .to passr freely through so thatit becomes. accessible .for inating. the tire. This large aperture type isopen ,to objections which defeat its object `in that .dirt enters freely andprevents proper seating lot the valve so` that leakage, results in a at tire.l Furthermore, the large apertureweakens the rubber ofthe sleeve eccentrically, so `that latter ashort use breaking occurs requiring; replacement of theclosure, or causes the closure to improperly seat yand/orretain air pressure in case ofvalveleakage, andfdue. to the large area, insufficient tension, canibeb'rought-tobear to retain the customary pressures'now used.

Some. of thetobiects yof the-present invention are: to provide an improved closure for tire valves; to provide a non-removable-zclosure..fora1tire valve: to provide a closure .for tire valves wherein danger of leakageatany time is eliminated; to provide a. closure which rserves asa protection for the valve stemwhen changingna tire: to provide a closure of'resilientymaterial capable of stretching and`bendng so that itfcanrbe manipulated to open and close access to the tire valve while remaining an integral or attached part of fa tire valve stem: to provide a novel valve assembly yfor association .with the closure` sleeve to form an amplified resistance. to pressure so 4that 'the tension of 'the rubber ofthe stem counter-acts anVch'ance of leakageabout the -valvex to provide a closure with' a'self-'clnsing slit; as distinguished from an opening. which is held closed bv rubber compression bnt permits the valve stern to penetrate the slit and pass therethrough for attachment of an air hose', and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l represents a perspective of a tire valve closure embodying one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a sectional elevation of the closure as assembled with a tire valve and viewed from the front and in closed position: Fig. 3 represents a like section viewed from the side and also in closed position; Fig. 4 represents a sectional elevation showing the closure as stretched initially preliminary to lateral bending; Fig. 5 represents a sectional elevation showing the closure in position for access to the valve; Fig. 6 represents a plan of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 represents a side elevation of a tire valve closure embodying a modied form of the invention; Fig. 8 represents an enlarged detail in axial section of a novel valve part for association with the closure of the invention: Fig. 9 represents a medial section of the closure as initially shaped ready for the insertion of the valve stem; Fig. 10 represents a like section but showing the valve stem in place and the 2,693,197 Patented Nov. 2, 195.4

2'. closuresstretchedtoplace4 the slit undery compression; Fig. lllrepresents a section `on' line 1111 of Fig.'y l0; and Fig. 12'represents a side elevation showing the `valve stem protruded-v for use'.L

Referringl ,tothedrawings, one form` of' thev present invention comprises a closure-inthe form of a tubular member closed at one endvand open'at the other end for telescopic fitting about the stem 11 of a tire valve 12; The'v stem 11 is preferably made withoutthe usual external threads for cap.; assembly, but4 theV closure-of the. invention can1 lbe lassembled with the usual threaded stemxwhenit is todunctiony asfan attached'part. The closure is made of rubberonothersuitable resilient material lending itself to stretching and "bendingi. Preferably the closure, as-sh'ownwiriFig.4 l, is moldedas an integral part of Ithe inner tub'ev13; which'as usual seatsragainst the encircling metal rimv 14 r'of the vehicle wheel, while the closure, when'assembled;l protrudes through the'usual aperture 15 of the rinrlflr. The'bore ofthe closure has a -snugfit about vthefvalve stern 11, and has its inner end portion yvulcanized to the stembasef11 and part way up theJ length `of' thec1osureasfillustratively indicated atA. Theupward termination of the vulcanizingfis such that the major'portion of'theclosure is free for longitudinal elongation by stretchingr under manualupward` pull in order tobend it`-outofvthe vertical to expose-the end of Vth'evalve: stem.

In` order to thus expose thevalve stemy when the closure isstretched to operating position. one side offthe` closureis yprovided with a longitudinally disposed slit 16; throughx thel closurewall',- having a-length sufficient tof permit theevalvef'stern to pass through when lthe closure is'stretched to bring they slit 16-intoregister an'eftective grasp.' forpulling, stretching; and bending the closure.

In operation the-'free end of the closure is grasped by the user-.and an axialpull"transmitted'to the closure'to vthereby ystretch:and-.increase 'its length untilv a slit', either 161orl ll'l. is brought Vsubstantially into the-plane of the yend-'ofthevalve` stem, this locationfi-beingsuch that a lateral bending of thel closure causes the' stem topenetrate thecoverlyingy slit byy pressingA theresilient material aparty andth'us iiilally` `emerge 1asshown`- in Fig;r 5; At this1timef=the=air Minletis lexposed(to'receive air from the hose: leading from--asourcef of compressed air.` When the tire has `been properly inflated, the closure is stretched and bent in the reverse direction until brought into register with the valve stem, whereupon` when released, it retracts to closed position with the slit 16 sealed by the side of the Valve stern.

Referring to the modified form of the invention, a closure body 21 is molded of rubber with an open end bore 22 to receive the valve parts, and a closed end externally shaped as a hand gripping knob 23. Also, the closed end is internally molded with an axially disposed cone-shaped proiection 24 serving as an auxiliary valve, as will be described hereinafter. The open end of the body 21 is molded as a part of the inner tube 13 of the tire, as will be understood.

Referring to Fig. 8, the preferred form of valve parts comprises an elongated tubular stem 26 having an internal end thread 27 by which a bushing insert 28 is attached to the stern 26 to provide a seat on its inner end in the path of the usual spring-pressed valve 30. The other end of the insert 28 terminates in a head 31 abutting the end of the stem 26 in assembled condition and forming an outer convex or rounded rim 32 dimen- Sioned to snugly encircle the projection 24 when assembled. Thus, the rim 32 forms a leak-proof seat about the projection 24. The insert 28 has a relatively. small diameter bore to reduce the inside diameter of the stem 26 at its outer end so that leakage pressure is so throttled that the tension of the rubber will hold the pressure. Comparing this construction with the standard valve stem of SAS inside diameter wherein the area is 0.028, the pressure with a leaky valve is 0.028 x 26 giving 7.3 lbs. With the insert 28 having an inside diameter of 0.092, area 0.0067, the pressure with a leaky valve is 0.0067 x 26 giving 1.7 lbs. pressure which can be held by the rubber tension.

In order to expose the end of the valve stem for attaching an air hose thereto, the closure body 21 is provided with a longitudinally disposed self-closing slit 16 parallel to the axis of the body 21 of such a length as will permit the stern 26 to penetrate the slit and pass therethrough and is also located so that the body 21 can be stretched endwise to bring the slit 16 into register with the end of the valve stern as the body is turned sidewise to force the stem into a protruding position. The dimension of the slit 16 and its relation to the body are critical and the association can be explained as follows: The body 21 as shown in Fig. 9 is molded with a transverse bulge intermediate its length forming a substantially elliptical bore having a length proportionately less than the length of the stem 26 to cause the body 21 to be stretched axially and held under tension by the entering stem 26 in assembling. Before so assembling, however, the slit 16 is cut by an extremely thin utensil, such as a razor blade, so that it is characterized by such extreme thinness as to be normally held closed and sealed by the compressive action of the rubber as tensioned by the inserted stem 26. As shown in Fig. 9, the bulge holds the slit 16 closed, but relaxed so that as the bulge i collapses by the endwise stretching of the body by the entering stern 26, the lips of the slit 16 are now forcibly pinched together and for all normal contingencies completely sealed. The slit 16, so closed, lies in closed joint Contact with a side of the stem 26 as a further measure of protection against leakage. t

As shown in Fig. l0, the stem 26 has stretched the body to its normal operating position with the valve 30 seated against the insert 28 in leak-proof relation. A further guard against leakage is provided by the auxiliary seal formed by the rounded rim 32 encircling the projection 24 which seats against the outer end of the stem-carried insert 28.

When a tire with this novel valve assembly thereon requires air, the knob 23 is grasped by the user and an axial pull is transmitted to the body 21 to stretch it to a position where the slit 16 can be brought into register with the end of the stem 26 as the body is bent laterally and downward over the stem to thus cause the stem to penetrate the overlying slit and protrude as shown in Fig. l2. The inlet end of the insert is now accessible to receive air from a hose leading from a source of compressed air. When the tire has been properly inflated, the body 21 is reversely bent and stretched to return the stem to the interior thereof and is then released so that the tensioned rubber not only snaps the slit closed, 6

but seals it against the side of the valve stem.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a novel method has been devised for forming and assembling a closure for a tire valve whereby a slit is cut in a molded closure to provide a closed end valve stem-receiving bore having a length shorter than the length of the Valve stern so that when assembled with the stem the latter distends the closure endwise under tension to produce a slit-closing pressure under non-lling conditions of the closure.

It will now be apparent that a novel tire valve assembly has been devised which eliminates the use of a removable dust cap while resulting in an eiiective dust-proof seal for a valve stem. As an added advantage the closure is an attached part forming a housing about the valve stem which acts as a protective element in changing tires. By reason of the elasticity and resilience of the closure and the location of the slit, which passes the valve, the closure is capable of two positions relative to the valve stem, the closed position locating the slit sealed against the side of the stem and the open position being attained by stretching the closure endwise relative to the stem to bring the slit beyond the end of the stem and then bending the closure so that the stem is pressed through the slit for access to the inlet end thereof. It should further be noted that the resilient rubber closure is self-closing due initially to the elasticity of thematerial which is thereafter augmented and maintained closed by the lateral pressure developed under the applied tension by the longer valve stem entering the shorter closure bore.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A tire valve assembly comprising the combination of a tire valve stem, a bushing insert attached to the end of said stem having a seat and an air supply valve for the seat at one end and an auxiliary annular seat at the opposite end, a resilient closure having a stemreceiving bore snugly surrounding said stem, closed at its inner end, an auxiliary valve formed on said inner end of said closure to seat upon said auxiliary seat in assembled condition, said closure having a self-closed slit longitudinally disposed through the wall thereof located for registration with said insert when said closure is stretched axially and bent laterally over said stem, and mounting means on the outer end of the closure.

2. A tire valve assembly in accordance with claim l wherein said auxiliary valve comprises a projection to coact with said auxiliary seat.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Aug. v8,v 1935 

